Though Netflix’s Emmy-nominated political drama House of Cards recently lost one acclaimed director, David Fincher, for its second season, don’t feel too bad for the show. After all, it just gained another supremely talented filmmaker to direct an upcoming episode – Oscar winner Jodie Foster.
Foster, who has won two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her leading performances in The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, previously worked with Netflix when she helmed a first-season episode of the streaming giant’s acclaimed prison dramedy Orange Is the New Black. Now, with the news that Foster will team with Netflix again for one episode of House of Cards‘ second season, it seems clear that the company is very interested in keeping the A-lister around. According to sources, Foster is already prepping for her episode on location in Baltimore, where House of Cards films.
This won’t be Foster’s first time behind the camera; the actress made her directorial debut with a 1988 episode of Tales from the Darkside titled “Do Not Open This Box,” and has helmed movies including Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays and, most recently, the Mel Gibson-starring dark comedy The Beaver. Following her stint on Orange Is the New Black, the actress was also set to direct Money Monster, a thriller about a TV personality taken hostage on his own show, but it’s unclear whether that project has been shot already or will have to wait until after Foster wraps her House of Cards episode.
House of Cards, which centers on the machinations of a scheming D.C. politician and his equally duplicitous wife, has been steadily building an impressive resume of directors for its upcoming second season. In addition to Foster, Glengarry Glen Ross director James Foley has been tapped to direct seven episodes, while series star Robin Wright has been confirmed to make her directorial debut. House of Cards‘ leading man Kevin Spacey is now also in talks to helm an episode.
Though many fans were disappointed by the news that Fincher will not return to direct any of the show’s upcoming episodes, House of Cards did a pretty phenomenal job throughout its first season of maintaining the same tense, dark tone that Fincher quickly established in the show’s first and second episodes. If the showrunners want to keep that same vibe for upcoming installments, I’m confident they’ll be able to do so even without Fincher behind the camera.
However, I am intrigued by what Foster will bring to the table as a director. Though it’s obviously too soon to tell whether House of Cards will feel different or not in her episode, I’m excited to see the end product either way, and perhaps a shake-up in the drama’s tone could actually be a good thing in terms of increasing the show’s overall quality.
Will you be watching House of Cards when its second season premieres on Netflix in 2014? Let us know in the comments section!